Roll-unwinding device for automatically changing rolls at full running speed

ABSTRACT

In a roll-unwinding device two pair of support arms are mounted on a support frame for automatically changing rolls of a web-type material for the continuous delivery of the material as it is unwound from successive rolls. The support arms are disposed between laterally arranged support elements of the frame and the support arms of one pair are laterally spaced from the support arms of the other pair. The support arms are pivotally mounted on the frame for movement between a plurality of positions. To afford the movement of two different rolls between the unwinding and replacement positions the length of one pair of support arms between its pivot axis and its roll support axis is different from the length of the other pair of support arms between its pivot axis and roll support axis. Hydraulic piston assemblies or mechanical devices are mounted on the support frame and connected to the support arms for pivoting the support arms through limited pivot angles between the various positions assumed by the rolls in the operation of the device.

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[ 5.1 inn/1.2 197 [54] llULL-WNWINDTNG DEVICE FOR AUTQMATICALILY @HANGTNG WILLS fiaschinenfabrilr Winkler, Fallert dz (30., AG, Berne, Switzerland [22] Filed: Mar.3,1970

[21] Appl.No.: 15,973

[73] Assignee:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Freeman ..242/58 3,07l,333 1/1963 Looser ..242/58.2

Primary Examiner-Leonard D. Christian Attorney-McGlew and Toren 57] ABSTRACT In a roll-unwinding device two pair of support arms are mounted on a support frame for automatically changing rolls of a web-type material for the continuous delivery of the material as it is unwound from successive rolls. The support arms are disposed between laterally arranged support elements of the frame and the support arms of one pair are laterally spaced from the support arms of the other pair. The support arms are pivotally mounted on the frame for movement between a plurality of positions. To afford the movement of two different rolls between the unwinding and replacement positions the length of one pair of support arms between its pivot axis and its roll support axis is different from the length of the other pair of support arms between its pivot axis and roll support axis. Hydraulic piston assemblies or mechanical devices are mounted on the support frame and connected to the support arms for pivoting the support arms through limited pivot angles between the various positions assumed by the rolls in the operation of the device.

7 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PAIENIEB Jmzsmz 353L155 MEI/Tow "hMR senses QFITO HTToR News ROLL-UN WINDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATTCALLY CHANGING ROLLS All If FULL RUNNING SPEED SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed to a device for positioning rolls of web-type material being unwound to a treatment station and, more particularly, the invention concerns a device for the continuous transfer of the web-type material from successively arranged rolls as the rolls are pivotally supported between a replacement position and an unwinding position and eventually the support returns to the replacement position for the reception of another roll.

In known roll-unwinding devices, which employ a center brake or center roll, a reel star rotates intermittently in a selected direction. This rotational operation requires a supply of electric current, a hydraulic fluid medium, or a complicated mechanical transmission device. To maintain the structural height of the device to a minimum, so-called roll trenches are required in the floor for the through rotation of the reel stars, however, this arrangement involves structural difficulties in the positioning of the reel stars. The gluing of successive paper webs from small rolls involves difficulties because of the large angle of rotation of the reel stars.

In German Pat. No. 1,109,998, a roll-unwinding device is known which utilizes two pairs of roll support arms of equal length which are spaced laterally from one another. In principle, this device could be designed so that the pivot angles of each pair of arms could be retained within a sector of less than 360, for example, relative to the floor. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that the web does not always enter the treatment station or machine immediately which is an absolute requirement for the webs when its sides are quite different, as for example, in the case of a foil prelacquered on one side. It is the purpose of the invention disclosed in the above patent to provide an arrangement which avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages and, additionally, has the ad vantages that the rolls secured to a pair of arms is positioned in the unwinding device on the same side in all cases, this results in a considerable savings in space and is also more convenient in handling. However, this arrangement has the disadvantage that the pair of arms must always rotate in the same direction which makes it necessary to provide costly devices for the lines which lead to the pairs of arms, such as sliprings for electric circuits or rotational connections for hydraulic and pneumatic conduits.

At the present time, the most commonly used roll-unwinding device operates in accordance with the principle illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 12 of US. Pat. No. 3,381,912, and also incorporates roll support arms which rotate in the same direction, and as a result, have the disadvantages mentioned above. Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a roll-unwinding device employing support arms for the rolls which do not require that the arms rotate in the same direction at all times. I

Another object of the present invention is to pivotally mount the roll support arms in laterally spaced relationship so that they can be rotated relative to one another in opposite directions as the rolls are moved between various positions in the device. Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, a support frame is provided with a pair of laterally paced sidewalls on which two pairs of roll support arms are pivotally mounted. In each pair the arms are spaced apart laterally from one another and from the other pair of arms and the arms in one pair have a length different from the arms in the other pair to provide the desired rotational characteristics of the invention. The roll support arms are arranged to position the rolls to be unwound between a number of different positions on the device. The ends of the support arms remote from the position of the roll to be unwound thereon are connected to hydraulic cylinders for pivoting the arms into the desired positions. Due to the arrangement of the device the extent of the angular movement of the support arms as they are pivoted is limited affording a considerable advantage over the devices employed in the prior art. Furthermore, a cutting and gluing member and a deflecting roller are mounted] on arms pivotally secured to the support frame for gluing a preceding and a succeeding web together, for cutting the preceding web when the gluing operation has been completed, and for guiding the web to the treatment station or machine.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 11 is a side view of a roll-unwinding device embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial view taken in the direction transverse to that in FIG. 11;

FIG. 3 is a side view of another embodiment of a roll-unwinding device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial view similar to that in FIG. 2 taken transversely of the view in FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5 to 113 are schematic illustrations of the sequence of the operation of the device embodying the present invention.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIGS. l and 2, a support frame is illustrated comprising a pair of laterally spaced side support walls 1 with a support shaft 2 extending between and supported by the sidewalls. Pivotally mounted on the support shaft 2 are two pairs of roll support arms 3 and 4, as shown in FIG. 2, the support arm 3 is spaced laterally outwardly from the support arm 4. The arms extend in both directions from the support shaft 2 and at one end the arms 3 support a roll 5 of a web-type material and at one end of the arms 4 a roll 6 of a Web-type material is supported. The length of the arms 3 is greater than the length of the arms 41, that is, the length of arms 3 between the common pivot axis and the roll support axis is greater than the comparable length for the arms 4. At the opposite end 8 of the arms 3 from the end supporting the roll 5, a hydraulic cylinder 7 is connected to the arms for pivoting them about the support shaft 2. Similarly, at the ends 9 of the support arms 4 opposite the end supporting the roll 6 another hydraulic cylinder 7 is provided for pivoting the arms 4 about the common support shaft 2. Also pivotally attached to the sidewalls ll of the support frame are arms 10 which incorporate a gluing and cutting device Ill and a deflecting roller 11?. which guides the web-type material from the roll to a treatment station or machine.

In FIGS. 3 and 41 of the drawing, another embodiment of the roll-unwinding device is shown which is generally similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 2, however, the pair of support arms 3 are pivotally mounted on a support shaft 113 while the pair of support arms 4 are pivotally mounted on a different support shaft 141. It will be noted that the location of the support shafts l3 and 11 1 are relatively close together and the relative lengths of the support arms 3 and d between their pivot axes and roll support axis are the same in FIG. 3 as in FIG. 1. The remaining elements of the device in FIG. 3 are the same as illustrated in FIG. 1 and bear the same reference numerals.

In place of the hydraulic cylinders 7 used for pivoting the support arms to the various positions on the device, mechanical means, not shown, may be used for this purpose. For such a purpose the arrangement shown in FIG. 3 with separate support shafts would be more suitable because the pairs of support arms 3 and 4 can be firmly connected to the rotating support shafts 113 and M and the mechanical drive can be transmitted over the support shafts.

The operation of the roll-unwinding device is such that known hydraulic or electric brake drives acting in the roll center are provided which control the rolls 5 and 6 supported on the pairs of arms 3 and 4. Each pair of arms guides a roll of the web-type material from a position in which the roll is positioned between the arms to a connecting position, in which the roll is accelerated to operating speed and the web of the roll (a succeeding roll) is connected to the web of the unwinding roll (the preceding roll) which is being unwound in the unwinding position, that is, the position of roll 5 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. As the web on roll 5 in the unwinding position approaches the end of the roll the connection in made with the web from the next succeeding roll, i.e., 6. After the webs have been connected by means of the device 11 mounted on the arm 10, the web on the preceding roll, i.e., 5, is cut by the device 11 and the web then continues to be removed from the succeeding roll. Since the web from the preceding roll has been cut, the roll is then automatically braked and removed. The succeeding roll is then guided from the connecting position into the normal unwinding position and the pair of arms from which the preceding roll has been removed is pivoted into the loading or takeup position for receiving a new roll. While the new roll is being positioned in one pair of the support arms the other roll with its pair of support arms remains in the normal unwinding position. Only the pair of arms from which the roll has been removed pivot to receive a new roll.

For the gluing or connecting operation, the rolls are not moved, but the web being unwound from the unwinding position is guided by means of the deflecting roller on the pivotally supported arm into the vicinity of the succeeding roll, that is, into the dot-dash position of the deflecting roller 12 indicated in FIGS. 1 and 3 below its normal position.

In accordance with the present invention, the web-type material from rolls of relatively small diameters can be readily glued together.

To provide a clearer picture of the sequence of operations of the device embodying the present invention, the various steps involved in loading, connecting, unwinding, and unloading empty rolls will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 13.

In FIG. 5, the roll R1 is in the unwinding position with its web-type material passing over the deflecting roller to a treatment station. The roll R1 is supported by the shorter ones of the pairs of support arms I and the arms are located in approximately the vertical position. The longer of the pairs of sup porting arms II are located approximately horizontally and are in position to receive a new roll R2.

In FIG. 6, roll R1 is almost empty and roll R2 is now supported on the pivotally mounted arms II and has been pivoted upwardly and placed in rotation in preparation for the connecting or gluing step.

In FIG. 7, the web material has been almost completely removed from the roll R1 and it is displaced by the roller W (the deflecting roller 12) in the direction of the arrow until it is brought into contact with the web material on the roll R2 and at this point the leading end of the web material on the roll R2 is glued to the web material being removed from the roll R1.

In FIG. 8, the web material being unwound from the roll R1 has been cut with the result that only the web from the roll R2 is being unwound over the roller W and directed into the treatment station or machine. As indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8, the roller W has been displaced back to its original position. The roll R1 with any remaining web material is removed from the support arms I as indicated by the arrow.

In FIG. 9, the shorter length arm I from which the roll R1 has been removed, is pivoted in the clockwise direction, from the position shown in dash lines to the position shown in full lines which is an almost horizontal position, and in this position, it is possible to load the next succeeding roll R3 onto the support arms I. After the shorter arms I have been pivoted in the clockwise direction the arms II supporting the roll R2 is pivoted in the counterclockwise direction from the position indicated in dash lines to that indicated in full lines. During the pivoting operation of the anns l and II, the pairs of support arms move past each other.

In FIG. 10, the unwinding of the web material from the roll R2 has continued to the point where the roll is almost empty and by pivoting the support arms I the roll R3 is moved into the position adjacent the web being unwound from the roll R2 and is set into rotation in preparation for the connecting or gluing operation.

As in FIG. 7, in FIG. 11, the roller W displaces the web being unwound from the roll R2 in contact with the web material on the roll R3 and the leading end of the roll R3 is glued to the web being unwound from the roll R2. The difference in the length of the arms I and II between their pivot axes and the roll support axis can be noted in FIGS. 7 and 11 with regard to the relative position of the rolls R2 and R3 with respect to the web being removed from the preceding roll.

In FIG. 12, after the gluing has been completed, the web being removed from the roll R2 has been cut with result that only the web material from roll R3 is passing over the roller W into the treatment machine. As indicated by the arrow the roller W has been displaced back into its normal operating position. The roll R2 is shown being removed from the arms II.

In FIG. 13, the empty support arms II, that is, the support arms from which the roll R2 has been removed, are pivoted in the clockwise direction from the position shown in dash lines to the approximately horizontal position shown in full lines, and in this horizontal position, the support arms II are in position to receive the next succeeding roll R4. When the clockwise movement of the supporting arms II has been completed the arms I holding the roll R3 are pivoted in the counterclockwise direction from the position shown in dash lines to the almost vertical position shown in full lines. Accordingly, a complete cycle has been shown from FIGS. 5 through 13 with the supporting arms I in position for unwinding the web material from the roll R3.

The roll-unwinding device disclosed herein can serve to dispense paper, textiles, foils and the like.

What is claimed is:

1. A roll-unwinding device for automatically changing rolls or a web-type material for the continuous delivery of the webtype material as it is unwound from successive rolls to a treatment station, comprising a support frame which comprises a pair of laterally spaced support elements, a first pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending roll support arms positioned between said support elements and arranged to support a roll of web-type material between said support arms as the material is unwound, a second pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending roll support arms positioned between said support elements and arranged to support another roll of web-type material between said support arms as it is unwound, the support arms of said first pair being spaced laterally from the support arms of said second pair, means mounted on said support elements for pivotally supporting said first pair and second pair of roll support arms, the support arms of said first and second pairs each having a pivot axis and a roll support axis with the pivot axis of each spaced in the longitudinal direction from its roll support axis, the support arms of said first pair having a length between their pivot axis and roll support axis which is different from the length of the support arms of said second pair between their pivot axis and roll support axis, means mounted on said support frame for pivoting said first and second pairs of roll support arms through limited angular distances between a plurality of roll positions, and means cooperating with said first and second pairs of support arms for connecting the webs of materials from a succeeding roll to a preceding roll and for cutting the web material on the preceding roll after the connection has been made.

2. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for pivotally supporting the arms of said first and second pairs comprising a common support shaft for the support arms of said first and second pairs.

3. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for pivotally supporting the arms of said first and second pairs comprising a first support shaft for said first pair of support arms and a second support shaft spaced laterally from said first support shaft for said second pair of support arms.

41. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for pivoting the support arms of said first and second pairs comprising hydraulic cylinders for pivoting the support arms through pivot angles of less than 360.

5. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for pivoting the support arms of said first and second pairs comprising mechanical means for pivoting the support arms through pivot angles of less than 360.

6. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 41, wherein said hydraulic cylinders are connected to the support arms of said first and second pairs on the opposite sides of the pivot axis from the roll support axis.

7. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim ll, wherein said means cooperating with said first and second arms for connecting the webs of material comprising an arm pivotally supported on said support frame, a deflecting roller mounted on said arm for guiding the web material to the treatment station, and a gluing and cutting device mounted on said arm for attaching a succeeding web to a preceding web and for cutting the preceding web after the gluing operation has been completed. 

1. A roll-unwinding device for automatically changing rolls or a web-type material for the continuous delivery of the web-type material as it is unwound from successive rolls to a treatment station, comprising a support frame which comprises a pair of laterally spaced support elements, a first pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending roll support arms positioned between said support elements and arranged to support a roll of web-type material between said support arms as the material is unwound, a second pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending roll support arms positioned between said support elements and arranged to support another roll of web-type material between said support arms as it is unwound, the support arms of said first pair being spaced laterally from the support arms of said second pair, means mounted on said support elements for pivotally supporting said first pair and second pair of roll support arms, the support arms of said first and second pairs each having a pivot axis and a roll support axis with the pivot axis of each spaced in the longitudinal direction from its roll support axis, the support arms of said first pair having a length between their pivot axis and roll support axis which is different from the length of the support arms of said second pair between their pivot axis and roll support axis, means mounted on said support frame for pivoting said first and second pairs of roll support arms through limited angular distances between a plurality of roll positions, and means cooperating with said first and second pairs of support arms for connecting the webs of materials from a succeeding roll to a preceding roll and for cutting the web material on the preceding roll after the connection has been made.
 2. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for pivotally supporting the arms of said first and second pairs comprising a common support shaft for the support arms of said first and second pairs.
 3. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for pivotally supporting the arms of said first and second pairs comprising a first support shaft for said first pair of support arms and a second support shaft spaced laterally from said first support shaft for said second pair of support arms.
 4. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for pivoting the support arms of said first and second pairs comprising hydraulic cylinders for pivoting the support arms through pivot angles of less than 360* .
 5. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for pivoting the support arms of said first and second pairs comprising mechanical means for pivoting the support arms through pivot angles of less than 360* .
 6. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 4, wherein said hydraulic cylinders are connected to the support arms of said first and second pairs on the opposite sides of the pivot axis from the roll support axis.
 7. A roll-unwinding device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means cooperating with said first and second arms for connecting the webs of material comprising an arm pivotally supported on said support frame, a deflecting roller mounted on said arm for guiding the web material to the treatment station, and a gluing and cutting device mounted on said arm for attaching a succeeding web to a preceding web and for cutting the preceding web after the gluing operation has been completed. 